New Headwaters Forest Deal Sent to Wilson / $480 million plan passed by Legislature

Greg Lucas, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau

Published 4:00 am, Tuesday, September 1, 1998

1998-09-01 04:00:00 PDT Sacramento -- The Headwaters Forest in Humboldt County would belong to the people of California under a last-minute deal that the Legislature sent to Governor Pete Wilson early today in an attempt to end years of angry protests and political brinkmanship.

Under the agreement, $480 million in state and federal money would be used to preserve the 3,500 acres of Headwaters and an additional 5,000-plus acres of timberland that serves as home to endangered fish and birds, including the coho salmon and the marbled murrelet.

"Some of these trees are 1,500 years old. They deserve to be protected," said Senator Byron Sher, D-Palo Alto, before the 29-to-5 vote on the measure in the Senate.

The compromise, which Wilson is expected to approve, would end months of often intense negotiations involving the White House, U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, Wilson, state legislators, environmentalists and Charles Hurwitz, the Texas billionaire who owns Pacific Lumber Co.

"We think it's a very good thing for the company, for the environment, our employees and the communities on the North Coast," said John Campbell, CEO of Pacific Lumber, which owns the land.

The compromise goes further than a deal negotiated by Feinstein and the White House that earmarked $250 million in federal money for purchase of the 3,500 acres of virgin redwood and 4,000 acres of previously logged land owned by Pacific Lumber.

Senate President Pro Tem John Burton, D-San Francisco, made the state's share of the Headwaters purchase -- $130 million -- contingent on commitments by the company to not log within 100 feet of fish-spawning streams on the company's remaining acreage in Humboldt County. Environmentalists contend, however, that the no-cut buffers should be 170 feet.

The deal brokered last night would:

-- Prohibit logging within 100 feet on either side of any fish-bearing streams on the company's property for three years during which the company must conduct habitat studies of the 60-odd streams and creeks on its property.

-- Deny logging -- even after the three years -- within 30 feet of fish-bearing streams.

-- Allow federal wildlife officials to decide what the no-cut buffer should be on fish-bearing streams after the studies are completed. Originally, the company had the power to veto federal decisions on the proper logging distance from streams.

-- Forbid logging of 13 stands of old growth redwoods on Pacific Lumber property for at least 50 years. In addition to the $130 million for Headwaters, the state commits to buy 910 acres of redwoods known as the Owl Creek tract for as much as $80 million and the Grizzly Creek tract, near an existing state park, for $20 million more..

Senator Tom Hayden, D-Los Angeles, objected to the deal, saying it was too generous to Hurwitz; $480 million is half of what Hurwitz spent to buy Pacific Lumber more than 10 years ago.

Passage of the deal was eased in the Senate when Burton linked Headwaters to $235 million sought by three powerful Southern California water agencies. They wanted the money to ink a landmark water-sharing deal, which Burton refused to let pass without approval of the Headwaters deal.

The money was key to a deal in which the Imperial Irrigation District, which receives the lion's share of California's draw from the Colorado River, will sell 200,000 acre feet annually to San Diego.

An acre-foot is roughly 326,000 gallons of water -- about what two households use in a year.

The money goes to the Metropolitan Water District, which owns the aqueduct that will deliver San Diego's new water from the Imperial Valley.